Jumping in the morning

Here's the latest forecast from Fiji MET, along with a satellite view of the area with our route marked out.  We brought more fresh veg and some goodies, and the last items on our list. 

Some sort of official approached us on the street in town today saying we needed to have a drug inspection.  When we told him that Customs, Immigrating and the Port Captain mentioned no such thing.  He said he'd be in touch later.  Seemed like a shakedown to us.

It poured in the last couple hours so three of us bathed in the cockpit using water collected in the downpour.  Hot and still this evening.

Marine Weather Bulletin Issued from the National Weather Forecasting Centre Nadi at 7:30pm on Wednesday the 17th of October 2012

Situation: A trough of low pressure with associated cloud and rain lies over the eastern parts of Fiji is slowly moving eastwards. It is expected to affect the group till later today. Meanwhile, another trough of low pressure to the north of Fiji is expected to affect the group on Friday.

Forecast to midnight tomorrow for Fiji waters: East to northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Moderate to rough seas. Moderate southerly swells. Poor visibility in areas of heavy rain. Further outlook: Easterly winds 15 to 20 knots. Moderate to rough seas. Moderate southerly swells.

P.S.   And if you get hungry before you jump, these Micky clones gone wrong will put you off your feed.

Life in the house beyond food and eating - wayback

July 23 - 31, 2012

When it rained for two days, we all felt such a luxury to have lots of space to move around in while it poured outside. Owen was reminded of his cabin in Uganda. He took naps every afternoon in the house and then went over to an American friend's house for a whiskey around 4:30PM. He said it was the first time he totally relaxed since the trip began. He wasn't constantly worrying about what to fix (how to fix it), where to go next (how to get there), the weather, the crew, and everything else a captain is responsible for. Towards the end of the week, he was running around the large circular living room with Tamsyn and Griffyn playing rousing games of ball or tag or what have you. Every night after the kids were in bed, Owen and I laid on the big bed and watched an episode or two of "Game of Thrones".

I had never been in a building with a metal roof when it was raining. I loved listening to it - despite how loud it was.  It is so hot and humid in the tropics - I loved the large airy shower and enjoyed slow warm showers twice a day. I loved the house, all it's windows and ceiling fans. I loved the spaces, the dressers from Japan, the art everywhere. I had brought my paints and worked on a painting all week. I loved having the space and time to paint. I could paint outside on the veranda or inside on my own desk away from everyone. I could let a painting sit  - I didn't have to put it away after each painting session. 

Painted at the house

And as my friendship with Sisi grew, I began to feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I was grateful for how much she had shared of her life, her traditional ways, views into homes, and the village. I began the painting "Vinaka" for her which shows the yellow orchids Andrea showed me, the red hibiscus and small purple flowers around the yard. I gave it to her as a parting gift when we left the big house. 

Griffyn and Tamsyn enjoyed having their own shower. They each took showers (with out being asked) the first morning at the house. "Mom, I washed my hair five times, so now I won't have to wash it for three weeks," Griffyn exclaimed after his first shower. Then Tamsyn would make french toast for breakfast (before Owen and I got up.) And they both loved their bedrooms. Griffyn had brought Jraffy's things which he set out along the headboard of his bed. [Jraffy is a tiny stuffed Giraffe who has a complete miniature house hold set in a couple nooks on the boat. He is a king I believe, very powerful. He is usually involved in Griffyn's schemes and often oversees the battles which take place on the settee below his house.] There was an old ornate chest in Griffyn's room sitting in a corner on the floor. He filled it with clothes, school supplies and a soccer ball. They both love to arrange their things just so. Griffyn especially loved having his own space since he doesn't really have one on the boat. (He has had to learn to make do with little nooks to define himself.) Tamsyn spent days sitting on her bed sewing clothes or making sleeping bags for her stuffed animals and reading. She is a voracious reader. It is hard to keep her in books. We do have many she can read on the kindle when she can wrestle it away from Owen.

We did have home school at the house. Owen did a lecture on the human body and all it's systems. They both made drawings and Tamsyn wrote about the functions of each system. There was an inverter in the house (converts 220 to 110) so we had endless power for watching movies on our computer. I never saw a TV on in a house in Fiji except to watch a movie. I don't know if there is local television.

On Thursday (July 26) Owen and Tamsyn took the bus into Savusavu to check on the boat. The rains had been very heavy and we wanted to make sure there were no nasty surprises when we returned a couple days hence. I really wanted to take advantage of the washer and dryer we had access to in the house. There was a huge pile of dirty bedding sitting on the boat. When they got to the boat, Owen found that the patch he had put on the dinghy in Tonga had let go - one quadrant was deflated. He spent the majority of his time there removing, cleaning and re-gluing the patch while Tamsyn piled our dirty laundry into a garbage bag. Otherwise the boat was dry and secure. Asseri, from Waitui Marina, ferried them back to the marina and they rushed back to town to catch the 1PM bus.

As our week came to an end, we took one last walk to the village of Nukumbalavu to go swimming at the beach. We walked along the road on the way there and along the beach on the way back. Many little tributaries meet the ocean along the beach coming back from the village. Tamsyn decided to see if one of the streams was fresh water or salt water - so she tasted it. I must have been looking out to sea when she did it, I didn't know. During the walk, she complained of having a stomach ache. She hadn't gone swimming earlier that day either so I figured she was a little under the weather. That night, Saturday night, she vomited and developed a fever. She told us she had tasted the river near Nukumbalavu. She was very ill the next day and we asked Andrea if we could stay another day until she her fever subsided. He said yes.  Tamsyn had dysentery. It took her three days to recover enough to leave the house. We let her watch movies all day, she was very weak. As she was able to keep liquids down, I squeezed all the kumquats, limes and lemons to make cool refreshing drinks, slightly salted and sweetened with sugar to replenish our dehydrated daughter. While she recovered, we packed up and said moce (pronounced 'mothay') - Fijian for goodbye, to our new friends. As we piled our stuff into a cab, Andrea said we could come back and get more fresh food when ever we wanted.

Baking with Sisi and bread recipe - wayback post

August 8th, 10th and 13th

During the time the kids were in school, I went back to visit Sisi and Andrea at her home. My first visit was short and formal - I brought some food to share and we all sat down in her living room on a mat around a cloth she had laid out. She made black tea and brought out some cooked taro root. A friend of hers, Tina, was visiting also. Tina had been to Minnesota and Wisconsin years ago - through her church. Her father is a pastor. I really enjoyed talking with Tina about where I grew up (Minnesota and Wisconsin). Andrea offered to put a seat on the coconut scraper I had just bought. He spent much of the time outside carving a local pine board. Towards the end of that visit we planned the next one. Sisi wanted to make bread and I offered to show her how to bake cinnamon rolls as well. We would meet at the big house. Sisi does not have an oven.

For the second visit (August 10th), again I came on the 9:30 a.m. bus. The buses do not have glass in the windows, the seats are like school bus seats in the U.S., the driver cranks on a huge stick shift while the engine strains to scale steep dirt roads full of pot holes. He knows the road - swerving confidently around sharp corners while avoiding on coming cars. The wind whips pleasantly through the bus. On a hot day, it can be the only cool place in Savusavu. The cost of a one way ticket is 70 cents (about 37 cents U.S.) I loved riding the bus. I felt such a deep up welling of feeling, like I was finally answering some deeply buried passion. I was out exploring by myself (and everyone I generally feel responsible for was taken care of elsewhere). It's been a while since I felt moved in this way. I do get out alone at times, but seldom do I feel such a profound sense of joy. I didn't feel like a tourist. I was visiting a friend, on a local bus, sitting next to Fijians heading to work in their uniforms cut from cloth made to look like tapas. I loved everything, the bright colors people wear, the tropical mountainous countryside, the soft-spoken Fijian voices, the beautiful children with elaborate braids and smart uniforms, the bumpy ride, the fresh air.

When I arrived, I walked through that wonderful yard again, this time looking at the mangos hanging, the passion fruit vine creeping, the papayas clumped together, the flower beds, everything I missed. Andrea met me and showed me a lime tree and other plants I hadn't known about. We walked up to the house again and he brought out some lemon grass and my new coconut scraper. It is beautiful, a large seat attached to the small sharp circular scraper. I went in to make tea. Sisi had brought flour, sugar, yeast, butter and salt. I brought the rolling pin, cinnamon, brown sugar, sultanas, wholemeal flour (whole wheat) and baking pans. The water was off that morning, so Sisi ran home to gather liters of bottled water for us to drink and bake with. I put the kettle on and asked Andrea to find a coconut. Then we set about making bread. Tina was there again so she wrote the recipe down as I demonstrated each part. My favorite bread recipe is:

1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar

The water should be "baby bath water" warm. This is the most reliable description I have heard for the correct temperature for proofing the yeast. (I don't have a thermometer). Dissolve the yeast, let sit 10 minutes. If there is a nice foam on top after 10 minutes use it, otherwise toss it and begin again.

Add:

1 3/4 c. warm water
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1/4 c. dry milk powder
2 Tbsp. melted butter (or 1 Tbsp. oil or ghee)

Stir until well mixed then Add: 

2 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
1/2 c. Atta flour (or rye flour, or other interesting heavy flour)

Stir very well. Atta flour is local and used for roti. It adds body to the whole-meal flour available here which is quite light for a whole grain flour.

Next add 3 3/4 c. whole-meal flour (or whole wheat but not stone ground whole wheat).

Stir well.  Then add about another 1/2 c. of white flour until it isn't sticky as you knead it. Knead until it feels like a baby's butt, smooth and elastic. Pour a little oil in the bowl and roll it around. Then cover it with a cloth and let it rise until double. I use a large wide basin to make bread in. It makes the stirring very quick and you can knead right in the bowl. It is keeps everything contained and very easy to clean up.

After it rises (about an hour in the tropics), punch it down, turn on the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease two loaf pans and sprinkle the bottoms with corn meal. Then knead out the large air bubbles and cut the dough half. Shape each piece into a ball by pulling it continuously away from the center and then gently rolling the dough in your hands while holding it up so that it lengthens to fit a loaf pan. Put the dough in the pan, sprinkle flour along the top and make three diagonal slits (expansion cuts) so that the dough rises where you want it to. (Otherwise it may split along the side where it rises above the pan - and it will break too easily when sliced.) Cover with cloth and let rise until the oven is heated (about 30 minutes). It will almost double in volume. Bake for 35 minutes or until is sounds hollow when rapped on the bottom. Let cool in a breezy cockpit.

As soon as the bread is rising for the first time, you can begin the dough for the cinnamon rolls. It is the same recipe except without the wholemeal and atta flour. I use only white flour. After it rises the first time, roll it out into a large rectangle. Spread it liberally with soft butter. Make a mixture of one part cinnamon to two parts brown sugar and sprinkle this generously on the buttered dough. Then roll it up like a jelly roll, starting at the longest edge. Slice the dough about every 1 1/2 inches and place pieces upright in a sheet cake pan. I use two pans, one is 9 by 13 inches and the other one is 9 by 10 inches. Once the dough has risen a second time (in the pan), pour melted butter over each roll and bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees F. Let the cinnamon rolls cool. Make an icing of sifted powdered sugar and water. Only add enough water to make the icing barely dribble. Dribble icing all over mostly cooled cinnamon rolls. Eat. These never last in long on the boat.

Sisi made a delicious lunch for us that day while the bread rose. We ate on the veranda with Andrea and Tina. By the time the cinnamon rolls were finished it was nearing 4 PM and pouring cats and dogs. I decided to wait for the rain to let up. We had already cleaned up so headed over to Sisi's house to have a cup of tea. Sisi shared a couple cinnamon rolls and some fresh bread. I brought my new coconut scraper home along with a loaf of bread and a small pan of cinnamon rolls. My family was grateful. Sisi was having dinner that night with her large extended family at her father's house.

I visited Sisi again the following Tuesday (August 13).

Sisi also wanted to learn to make pumpkin pie and my chocolate cake recipe. As soon as I arrived that morning, we set to making the crust and put then dough into the freezer to chill. Then we cut the pumpkin (from her yard) in half, scooped out the seeds put it into the oven to cook. While the pumpkin roasted, we made two chocolate layer cakes. It is a simple recipe (previously published in the blog). As soon as the pumpkin was done, we put the cakes in the oven. Then we carved the flesh out of the skin and pureed it. It measured out to two cups, perfect. We made the famous Libby's pumpkin pie recipe (on the side of the can of pumpkin). For those of you who don't have canned pumpkin available:

Mix together:

2 c. baked, pureed pumpkin
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 can of evaporated milk (about 15 oz.)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger (dry powder)
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

Pour into a fluted pie crust and bake at 400 F for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 325 F and bake for 50 minutes (or until a butter knife inserted in the center comes out clean - the center should be solid). Cool, chill and serve with whipped cream (if it is unavailable.) Sisi had prepared another delicious lunch (cassava, sauteed eggplant with onions, tomato and carrot and I had brought some chicken basil sausages) which we ate with Andrea and Tina on the veranda while the pie baked. We pulled the pie out of the oven at 1 PM, just before we left for the village. I wanted to see the traditional dancing presented every Tuesday afternoon at 2 PM (for tourists).

I decided to bring Tamsyn with me that day (out of school) so she could also see the dancing and kava ceremony. She spent most of the day in the big house with us. She doesn't like the mosquitos and they are quite thick once away from the sea breezes and salt water. The chief of Savusavu lives in Nukumbalavu and there is an arrangement with the large resort, "Cousteau's" to bring tourists to his village on Tuesday afternoons to sight see. (I have heard from a local physician that the residents of Cousteau Resort pay up to $4,000 (Fijian) a night.) It is a good arrangement for the village of Nukumbalavu as there are tons of trinkets for sale and the resort guests can have things charged to their rooms, plus there is a $5 fee per tourist. We were greeted with a pretty lei and told to sit on one side of the hall, while the locals sat on the opposite side with a large kava bowl in the middle.

The kindergarten

View coming back from the village

Waiting for the bus

The bus

Sisi's mother's grave - she died three months ago

Sidewalk in the village, the only one

Tamsyn with a lei

The community hall, much like a grange hall

Shopkeepers home

The kava ceremony was very brief - 4 men were offered a drink twice each. [At the wedding we attended August 31st, all the men present including the Minister, Pastor and Priest (an interfaith wedding) drank kava for 6 hours straight - going through some 40 bowls of kava.  Each bowl was about 3 gallons.]  The traditional dancing was conservative compared to what we had seen in French Polynesia. The women wore the taka (a full-length sulu skirt with a matching blouse). Theirs were all made from a pattern based on tapas cloth. Sisi danced but I could tell she'd done it a few too many times. The men wore grass skirts and costumes similar to what we had seen in Marquesean dancing. The men dance separately from the women. Their dancing was much more spirited and seemed to tell a story. Men and women sang during the dancing, some very old traditional tribal songs. Sisi made sure we had some of the cookies and juice (for the participants) before our walk back. Tamsyn wanted to walk along the beach again.

By the time we reached the big house, the pie was cooled and it was nearing 5 PM. We packed up the cakes, cut the pie in half and locked up the house. Sisi walked Tamsyn and myself out to the road to wait for a taxi. Return trips (back to Savusavu) cost the same as a bus ride (70 cents per adult and 35 cents per child). Ram drove by some time later. He is a regular out this way because he understands the dialect well. We said good bye to Sisi and got in the taxi.

This was my second trip back from Sisi's in Ram's taxi. The first trip with him, I showed his wife, Eshwini, whom he picks up after work every day at 5:30PM, the bread and cinnamon rolls I made with Sisi. She was very interested. I told her I would come by her bakery. I wanted to learn how to make roti. Eshwini and Ram are Indo-Fijians. They make Indian food. Eshwini works at Lee's bakery in Savusavu. The second time I rode back to Savusavu with Ram, I shared some pumpkin pie with them.